Month: March 2016

Every now and again a business needs to take a step back and review its entire operation. It’s natural to draw a line on the sand and regroup, reevaluate, and refocus, all with an eye to improving the bottom line. Such a 360-degree assessment can be daunting, but a four-point template can guide the way and make the task both simpler and more productive. For a start, optimize expenses The start of this process should involve an assessment of how all spending is currently carried out across the organization. Nothing…

You may not realize it yet, but your business is on the cusp of a significant inflection point. Yes, yours. And you get to be there for the ride – or more accurately, for the journey. The Internet of Things enables companies to connect to just about everything and collect data about almost anything. It’s redefining operating models and delivering new game-changing services. Even if you’ve not yet dipped your toe in the IoT water, chances are your business will still feel its effects at some point this year, either…

Mining evokes images of men in hard hats, headlamps lit, covered in dust as they trudge through mines. Soon those images may be replaced by ones of workers poring over computer printouts as they guide a robotic excavator to the next dig location. Smart products lead the way The increase in smart, connected equipment presages a changing mining workforce. Tools are shifting the industry from top to bottom, causing firms to rethink business models and processes. Most importantly, the shift to different kinds of machines makes mining a much safer industry. Workers once were doing dangerous…

Every year, over half a million Americans die of cancer. That’s roughly 1,500 people per day. Each instance of cancer can be unique, and a treatment that may save one patient may not work for another. Only recently have researchers and doctors become able to use genetic and other data to design patient- and tumor-specific treatments – a breakthrough that can depend on the ability to manage and interpret massive amounts of data. How today’s electronic medical records fall short The American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), a professional organization…

Rapid changes in technology have affected businesses in more ways than we can count, from globalization and organizational adjustments to a workforce clamoring for remote and mobile job opportunities—and human resources has had to adapt swiftly. If HR wants to continue to play a critical role in helping businesses anticipate and manage organizational change, it must have technology at its core. With millennials making up more than half of the current workforce—and predicted to make up 75 percent by 2020—HR is going to have to embrace and build on technological…

Businesses did not always view information as a source of value. Manufacturing was about producing things, logistics for delivering the things to customers or intermediaries, and retail or services for selling the things to satisfy demand. Information was created at each point along the way (when goods were produced, shipped, or sold), reflecting the activities that were being transacted at each step in the end-to-end process. IT systems reported on this information in order to track the flow of goods and services from point to point, from firm to firm….

The title's not mine. It comes from a video done for us by ESG, based on their white paper, which looks at the TCO of building your own Hadoop cluster vs buying one ready-built (Oracle Big Data Appliance). You should watch or read, depending on your preference, or even just check out the infographic. The conclusion could be summed up as "better, faster, cheaper, pick all three". Which is not what you'd expect. But they found that it's better (quicker to deploy, lower risk, easier to support), faster (from 2X…

Digital business is all about streamlining. Every organization collects data, but not all know how to use it. At their best, data and analytics help businesses make smarter decisions. The key is knowing what to measure—and who to share it with. Today, new enterprise software is revolutionizing mining. From predictive software to 3D printing, the future of mining is here. But to harness its power, companies must first reimagine their business processes. Predictability is bliss Everyone can agree that the fewer unexpected disruptions, the better. But how can mines reduce unwelcome surprises? The answer,…

Leading into 2016, Oracle made ten big data predictions, and one in particular around security. We are nearly four months into the year and we’ve seen these predictions coming to light. Increase in regulatory protections of personal information Early February saw the creation of the Federal Privacy Council, "which will bring together the privacy officials from across the Government to help ensure the implementation of more strategic and comprehensive Federal privacy guidelines. Like cyber security, privacy must be effectively and continuously addressed as our nation embraces new technologies, promotes innovation,…

Rapid change is happening in the mining industry, as companies assess how to use new technology and embrace digital transformation. Analytics programs capture and crunch data from many sources and build real-time dashboards. These tools allow decisions that had formerly taken weeks and months to be done in minutes and hours. Output volume has long been the measure of mining success. Today, companies use technology to coordinate demand and production and improve yield. Better operations and control systems than ever are possible. That means companies must invest in tools and analytics that will allow…